Tag Archives: sidewalk

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Souvenir Store, Lisbon

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Souvenir Store, Lisbon
“Souvenir Store, Lisbon” — The entrance to a small souvenir store on a backstreet in Lisbon.

I am realizing that I have lots of photographs of these shops in Lisbon — perhaps a series of photographs is in order at some point. We saw many of them on walks from our lodgings in the city. We weren’t too far from the train station, which meant that we were in an area where a lot of things come together — main streets, transportation, business and shopping areas, tourist stuff, neighborhoods, restaurants, with narrow streets packed with people, and these little shops.

If I can generalize, there’s a kind of continuum (and not just in Portugal) that runs form fancy, upscale shopping areas to tiny, improvised, shops like this one. We didn’t go inside, as we were passing by on our way somewhere else, but this distinctly non-fancy shop seemed to sell a little bit of everything, with the tourist-attracting knick-knacks out front.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Blue Frames

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Blue Frames
“Blue Frames” — An old stone building with blue frames around doors and windows, Stirling, Scotland.

The main focus of our visit to Scotland earlier this year was waking the Great Glen Way from Fort William to Inverness, but that hike only took up about a third of our visit. Before the walk we spent several nights adjusting to jet lag, including stays in Glasgow, Oban, and Fort William. After the walk we had a night in Inverness, and multiple nights in Stirling, Glasgow, and Edinburgh… before a bit more than a week in England. Stirling, where I made this photograph, was our first serious non-hiking destination after the walk.

Like so many old towns — and Stirling is very old — the construction materials often reflect what was available locally. Here many of the old buildings are stone — they have been updated for modern tenants, but their appearance is far from contemporary. I love interesting geometry and color, and this juxtaposition of old stone walls with the blue-painted frames around the doors and windows caught my attention. Looking more closely, you may also see the remnants of older openings that have been closed off.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Au Natural Pizza

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Au Natural Pizza
“Au Natural Pizza” — Painted roll-up door on Au Natural Pizza, Sevilla, Spain.

You may have noticed that I photograph a lot of stuff like this, especially for someone who gets categorized as a “landscape photographer.” There’s a lot to say about that, but I’ll save it for the second paragraph. (Those who follow me on social media will have to click through.) This beautifully painted roll-up door and facade are on a small shop along a business street in Sevilla, Spain. That harsh light is seems fairly typical there at this time of day.

So, why does a “landscape photographer” photograph all of this city stuff? A full answer is longer than a paragraph, but here are a few thoughts. For one, like many photographers I am fascinated by the basic “material” of photographs — the textures, colors, shapes, form, composition, light, and so on. And these things are present everywhere, including in cities. I also do not limit my concept of “landscape” to the natural world. As such, these are “urban landscapes.” I’m also fascinated by what these scenes tell us about the people and cultures with which they are associated. To keep it simple enough for this paragraph, they illustrate both similarities among and difference between cultures.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

TOFU Wall, Glasgow

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TOFU Wall, Glasgow
“TOFU Wall, Glasgow” — Street art on the wall outside an Asian Fusion restaurant in Glasgow, Scotland.

On our recent trip to Scotland, among other things, we managed to spend time in the two largest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh. We flew into Glasgow late at night, then took a shuttle to the train station to head the Oban the next day. Fortunately, we came back for a longer visit after our walk on the Great Glen Way. We liked Glasgow a lot — while it is a busy, interesting place, it didn’t seem as touristy as parts of Edinburgh. Large murals like this one are a well-known feature of Glasgow.

We knew we wanted to at least see a few of them, so we came up with a longish walking route that would take us from our downtown location, past the University of Glasgow, and eventually to where many of them are found. This is the first one we ran into. (I apologize for not having thought to look for the artist’s signature!) One thing I like about the murals is that they integrate with the surrounding urban landscape. In this case, there’s the name of the business, a window to the interior, and more — which is partly why I composed this to include surrounding elements such as the front of the car, the bollards, the sidewalk, and the upper story of the building.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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